BOX SCORE #14 Sonoma State 3, San Francisco State 0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-20) -- Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO -- Caylie Seitz,
Madelyn Densberger and
Kelsey Hull combined for 31 of the team's 43 kills as the 14th-ranked Sonoma State volleyball team swept past host San Francisco State on Wednesday evening at The Swamp in San Francisco. The Seawolves, who are listed at No. 4 in the first official release of the NCAA Division II West Regional rankings, secured their fifth 20-win season in the last six seasons, improving to 20-4 overall and 13-3 in the CCAA. The Gators, meanwhile, fall to 11-13 (6-10 CCAA).
Wednesday's release of the
NCAA regional poll listed Sonoma State behind top-ranked UC San Diego, No. 2 BYU-Hawaii and No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino. Behind the Seawolves in the poll are No. 5 Alaska Anchorage, No. 6 Western Washington, No. 7 Central Washington, No. 8 Northwest Nazarene, No. 9 Cal State L.A. and No. 10 Cal Baptist.
The top eight teams listed in the final regional poll, which will be released via a live selection show on Nov. 25 at 4:30 pm Pacific Time, will qualify for the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Tournament. Sonoma is seeking its sixth-straight appearance.
In Wednesday's match against SF State, Sonoma State cruised to an easy 25-17 win in the opening set, before struggling in set number two, which featured 14 ties and six lead changes. The Gators were able to take an 18-15 lead late in the frame, forcing SSU head coach
Bear Grassl to burn a timeout. Out of the one-minute break, the Seawolves rallied to score nine of the next 13 points to hold set point at 24-22. However, three straight points by SFSU put the hosts up one at 25-24. Both teams traded points before SSU reeled off three consecutive points of its own to capture the set win, 28-26, and take a 2-0 match lead.
In the third set, San Francisco State kept close with Sonoma State, but after a Gator point that put them down by two at 21-19, the Seawolves tallied four of the next five points to win the set, 25-20, and match, 3-0.
Seitz led the way with 11 kills, hitting .318 while Densberger added 10 kills and a .409 clip. Hull recorded a double-double with 10 kills, a team-leading 12 digs and three service aces.
Regan Richert chipped in with six kills, followed by
Rachel Andrews and
Ashley Robinson with three apiece.
For SF State, Jaclyn Clark and Meagan Wright scored a team-high nine kills each to lead the hosts offensively. Wright also added six blocks, one of which was a solo rejection.
Sonoma State continues its five-match road swing on Friday when it travels to Chico to take on the Wildcats of Chico State. First serve from Acker Gymnasium is set for 7:00 pm.
